Coins of the Past
by TATE Forever101
Summary: Prentiss was placed in Witness Protection 16 years ago. 15 years ago, Spencer Reid disappeared. When two young kids show up at the FBI, its up to the rest of the team to reopen the case find out what exactly happened then and where their team members are now.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hey guys! I know its been a longgggg time since I've been on here. I've really been wanting to write this story, and I am really planning on following through. The problem is that I suffer writers block quite a lot. This is a new fandom of mine, and I absolutely love Criminal Minds, so I thought I would take a stab at it. I'm working on the next chapter, but I would like some feedback before I continue too much. Thank you!

Chapter 1

With a confidence she didn't feel, the fourteen year old girl walked into the FBI field office in Quantico, Virginia. She gripped her five year old brother's hand tightly as she lead him to the front desk where the guard was. It was late, later than she would have preferred. 7 PM DC time. She had no idea if the people she were looking for were even in town, let alone at work. But she had no other choice, and she knew it.

"Excuse me." She said. The guard glanced up at her with a disinterested look. "I was looking for SSA Jennifer Jareau."

"Is she expecting you?" The guard seemed quite skeptical.

"No, but I need to speak to SSA Jennifer Jareau if at all possible. Its important," the teenager insisted.

The guard considered the sight in front of him. A teenage girl with a little boy leaning into her. Both look exhausted, but more that than, they looked terrified. They were on guard and tense, which wasn't normal for young children, especially five year old boys.

"One moment." The guard told the kids as he dialed SSA Jennifer Jareau's extension.

"Hey JJ." The guard said into the phone. "I'm surprised you are still here. I have some kids here that are insisting on speaking with you." He paused. "Nope, never." He listened to whatever she was saying on the other line. "Yeah, great." he hung up.

"SSA Jareau will be down here in a moment for you. You can sit down in those chairs if you would like." He motioned to the chairs against the walls.

"Thank you sir." The teenage girl said to the guard as she lead her brother to the seats. She picked him up and put him in her lap and putting her arms around him. A few minutes later, Jennifer Jareau came into the room. She froze for a moment as her gaze landed on the two kids before heading over to them.

"Hey kids. Why don't we get you two a snack and then we can discuss whatever you came all this way for."

"No thank you ma'am, thats not necessary." The girl said as she stood up, the toddler still in her arms. "Is there somewhere private that we can speak?"

JJ raised her eyebrows. The girls mannerisms were familiar, but strange at the same time. "Yes, we can go to my office. Please follow me."

"Thank you." the girl said before following JJ in silence to her office where she closed the door.

"Please have a seat." JJ offered as she gestured to the couch against the wall. She pulled up a chair across from the children.

"I'm JJ." The woman said. "What are your names?"

The boy glanced up at the teenage girl, who looked like a deer in headlights. "I'm Penelope." She said after a moment.

"But-" The boy started.

"Mom and Dad said that we could trust them." She whispered to him. To JJ she said. "I go by Penny. This is Nicholas. His nickname is Nickel."

"Its nice to meet you Penny and Nickel." JJ told her with a warm smile. "What can I help the two of you with?"

Penny looked at the floor. "Our parents are missing." She said quietly.

"I'm sorry." JJ said to the children. "Who are your parents?"

The girl's hand went to a necklace around her neck as she hesitated in answering.

"Sweetheart." JJ began, "Just relax and tell me what's going on. What are your parent's names?"

She gnawed on her lip for a moment before responding. "My dad is Spencer Reid and my mom is Emily Prentiss. But they haven't been that for fifteen years."

Of all the answers JJ was prepared for, learning that her best friends kids were sitting in front of her was the last thing that would have crossed her mind.

"Dr. Spencer Reid and SSA Emily Prentiss are your parents?" She asked in disbelief. The girl nodded as she looked at the floor.

"How long have they been missing? And why did you come here?" JJ asked. She had many other questions, but those were at the forefront of her mind. Granted, knowing the kids parents certainly explained the strange nicknames.

"Well, they always told us about you guys and the team." Penny began, her eyes on the floor. "We had a game plan for if something happened to them. If we went 36 hours without getting a response from them or hearing anything from either of them, we were supposed to come here and find you. They said that you and the rest of the team were the only people we could trust to help us. They hoped that you guys would take care of us until our parents were found, but we understand if you can't. We didn't hear from them and I tried to contact them, and then our handler and our handler didn't answer and then I found out that our handler was dead so we came here with our emergency money."

She paused for a breath and JJ took the opportunity to interrupt. "Sweetheart, we are going to take care of you. You have nothing to worry about there. But I need to call the team in, and they are going to have some questions. But we are going to do everything we can to find your parents."

"Really?" Penny looked at her with wide eyes... Spencer's eyes. "You'll help us?"

"Your parents were... are- two of my absolute closest friends. Your father is my oldest son's godfather. We have always been able to count on each other. If something happened to me and my son's father, we would know we could count on any of the rest of the team to keep him safe. Your parents knew they could trust us to keep you safe. We aren't going to let them down."

"Thank you Aunt JJ!" She said, then froze, realizing what she said. "I mean, SSA Jareau."

"Aunt JJ is perfectly fine." the older woman said with a smile. "Now, let's get you two a snack, and then I am going to call the rest of the team and we can get started on finding your parents and learning more about the two of you."

"Thank you." They both said quietly.

JJ paused as she was heading out the door. "Can I- can I hug you?" She asked.

Penny looked at her. She had her father's looks, tall lean with his eyes. But she had her mother's dark, thick hair. "I guess that would be okay..." She stood up and let JJ throw her arms around her. She nearly sobbed when she was in her arms. The hug was strong and she felt protected in her arms. She squeezed back tightly. Penny finally let go and pulled back. JJ had tears in her eyes as she looked at the young girl in front of her that reminded her so much of her parents.

"Im going to do everything I can, but in the mean time, you and your brother are going to be safe." She leaned down and picked up the young boy. He had more of his mother's looks, but had his father's hair. "Now, lets go get you two something to eat."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you guys for your response to this story! I really appreciate all the favorites and follows. Thank you to those of you who reviewed because that really made my day. I hope you guys like this chapter! Let me know what you think!

Chapter 2

JJ got the two kids settled in the conference room with full meals, after finding out that the two of them hadn't eaten anything besides vending machine food in 4 days. She picked up the phone and dialed her husband's number first.

"Hotch." Came from the other end of the phone.

"Hey honey." JJ said as she watched the kids from outside the conference room. "I need you to come in."

"We have a case? We just finished that really tough one-"

"It's about Reid and Prentiss." She interrupted.

"What?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"I know. Its crazy, but its important. I'm calling the rest of the team in too. Tell Henry and Jack that we need them to watch all the kids for the night. I'm going to call Morgan and Garcia and Rossi."

"I got it. Love you." Hotch said before hanging up.

JJ dialed the number for the Morgan household. Penelope answered. "Speak mortal." She joked.

"Hey Garcia." JJ said into the phone.

"Don't tell me we have a case, JJ. The last one was really bad."

"I know, I know. Its just... Its about Reid." She said. Nobody but her and Hotch knew that Prentiss was still alive, and some things needed to be said in person.

"We'll be right in." Garcia said after a beat.

"Thank you. Just send the twins over to my house, Jack and Henry will watch them."

"Great. We'll be there ASAP." Garcia hung up and JJ went to make her last phone call.

"This better be an emergency." She heard from the other end of the phone.

"Hey Rossi. We got a case."

"I thought we had the weekend off. I'm writing and I was finally able to focus."

"I'm sorry, but its about Reid."

"Reid... as in IQ of 187 and eidetic memory with 3 PhDs that disappeared off the face of the planet 15 years ago?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be right in." Rossi said before hanging up.

Morgan was the first to barge onto the floor, which didn't surprise JJ in the slightest. He had spent years trying to find clues as to where his kid brother had disappeared to, and knowing there was new information would have had him ready to go.

"JJ, whats going on?" He asked.

"Derek, stop." She said, not letting him past her into the conference room. Garcia came up behind him, having taken the elevator instead of the stairs since she was in her 7th month of pregnancy.

"What?" He demanded.

"Derek, there are things you don't know that need to be explained before you can go into the conference room."

"Like what?" He demanded.

"Like, the fact that I believe he left on his own free will."

This caused Derek to stop completely. "What do you mean? He chose to leave? Why would he do that?"

"I'm not sure... not completely sure. But Derek, look into the conference room."

He looked and turned to her with confusion written all over her face. "Kids... his kids?"

"He's the father, yes."

"And the mother? Any idea?"

This was getting into tricky territory. "Emily Prentiss."

Garcia and Derek gaped at her. "JJ... Emily died 16 years ago. You know that."

"I know that that is the official story. But really, she was put into the witness protection program."

"What?" He nearly yelled as what she said sunk in.

"Shh." She snapped. "The kids don't need to hear you yelling!"

"She's been alive all this time?" Garcia asked, her mouth gaping.

"And Reid has been with her? Did you know this?" Morgan demanded.

"Morgan." Hotch said warningly as he came up behind them. He slipped his arm around JJ.

"Hotch. Prentiss is alive." He said angrily.

"Yes." Hotch said. "It was my decision for it to happen and my decision to keep it from the rest of the team."

"What about Reid?" Morgan asked.

"I don't know anything about that." Hotch admitted, looking down at JJ.

"Whats going on?" Rossi asked as he came up to the group.

"Let me start at the beginning." JJ said, holding up her hand. "And lets keep the outbursts in until the end." She added with a pointed look at Morgan.

Derek nodded curtly as he waited for JJ to go on.

"Sixteen years ago, everyone was told that Emily Prentiss died. That is not the case, she was placed in Witness Protection. One year later, Reid disappeared from our lives without a trace. I do not know the full story on why Reid left. I didn't know anything until today, when two children showed up here asking to talk to me. Their mother is Emily Prentiss and their father is Spencer Reid. And now their parents are missing."

Everyone gaped at her. "I don't know anything much since then. The kids got here themselves. They are terrified and exhausted. They are worried they will end up on their own and they are worried about their parents. The older one is worried their parents are dead and the little one is exhausted and clingy to his sister. They need us to go in there calm and collected. I told them there would be a lot of questions. But you can't go yelling and getting upset. These are Spencer and Emily's kids. With those genes, the kids are going to be stubborn and smart as hell. They need to feel comfortable and safe or they won't talk."

JJ was looking mainly at Morgan throughout her speech, but what she said went for all of them.

"Prentiss _and_ Reid are alive?" asked Rossi in disbelief. "Well, I'll be. And they got together? Anyone have any idea about when that happened?"

JJ shrugged. "No clue. Maybe the kids know. But we have to try and find them, it seems that the two of them are in big trouble. Now, don't scare the kids, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, JJ lead the team into the conference room. She turned with a finger to her lips at the sight that greeted her. Nickel was lying on four chairs, two facing the other two to make walls. His own jacket was under his head as a pillow and his sister's sweatshirt was draped over him like a blanket. He was fast asleep with his thumb in his mouth. Penny was sitting at the table with a pencil and she was doodling on a piece of white paper. She looked up as they all came into the room.

"Hey sweetie." JJ whispered. "Lets go into another room, okay?"

The girl turned and looked at her brother with panic on her face. "I can't leave him. They have people everywhere. We could be in danger right here and my job is to protect him." she whispered back.

"How about I sit in here with him while you all talk." Garcia suggested quietly. "I can watch over him and if he wakes up, I'll come and get you."

Penny gnawed on her lip a moment and picked at her fingers while she considered the idea.

She sighed. "That will have to work. Thank you Aunt Penelope." She said as she ducked her head.

"Oh baby, anytime." Garcia threw her arms around the girl, startling her. Penny's eyes went wide at first but then she relaxed into the hug. "You and I will be talking more later, I promise, but for now, go on and talk to the team so they can find your parents and we can bring them home."

Garcia made a shooing motion at her and Penny followed JJ and the rest of the team into the hallway. She stuck her pencil into her ponytail and folded up the paper she had been drawing on.

"Lets go back to my office to talk." JJ suggested as she headed that way. Once in there, everyone sat down... well, almost everyone. Penny was pacing back and forth as she picked at her nails. She glanced at JJ's desk and noticed that there were a lot of pictures, and her eyes focused on the one with the most familiar faces. She picked up the frame and studied it. It was her parents at their desks. Her mom was laughing and her dad had an absolutely clueless look on his face. Morgan and JJ were standing around shaking their heads and Hotch was walking in with an attempt at a stern look on his face, but a smile was tugging on his mouth as well. She held the frame to her for support and turned back to her audience.

"I don't know where to start." She admitted.

"How about introductions." Morgan suggested gently.

"Umm... okay. My name-well my actual name- is Penelope Elizabeth Prentiss-Reid. I go by Penny. My brothers name is Nicholas William Prentiss-Reid. He goes by Nickel. My godparents are Aunt JJ and Uncle Aaron and his are Aunt Penelope and Uncle Derek. My mom is-" She paused for a breath.

"Well, I have a feeling that you know who each of us is, so why don't you tell us what you know about us." Rossi said with a smile.

"Okay. Thats Aunt JJ," She pointed to the blonde. "She was the media liaison, but now she is a regular part of the team. Her son is Henry, and she had him with Will, but her and Uncle Aaron are married now apparently, which my dad called from a mile away by the way. Thats Uncle Aaron, and his son is Jack. I get the feeling that him and Aunt JJ have two other kids together, a girl and a boy, but I'm not sure what their names are." She paused and turned to Derek.

"You are Uncle Derek. You are my dad's best friend. You didn't have any kids, but now you are married to Aunt Penelope, and you have twin boys and another kid on the way. And Aunt Penelope is a computer genius and helps the team solve all their case."

"And then we have Uncle Dave. He's an author and has been married and divorced 3 times, and as far as I can tell, that hasn't changed at all. He's an author, and I've read and memorized all of his books."

The four agents in the room looked at her in stunned silence. She ducked her head. "Sorry." She murmured.

"Sorry?" Morgan asked. "Why on earth are you sorry? That was awesome! You geek speak and you have your father's memory. That was a blast from memory lane kiddo. You got everything spot on. But how did you know about the marriages and the other kids? None of that happened before your dad- before your dad left."

"Well, all of you are wearing wedding rings. JJ has pictures of kids on her desk. She has family pictures. One is of her, Uncle Aaron, two older boys, and then two younger kids, and it seems pretty recent. Another is a family picture of Aunt Penelope and you, Uncle Derek, with twin boys, and Aunt Pen is pregnant, so I figured that one out pretty easily. And Uncle Dave was a guess. Was I right about that one?" She asked.

Rossi chuckled. "Very. Your parents taught you how to profile?"

"They taught me to pay attention to my surroundings. If I do, I can learn a lot about people, and it will likely save my life. I've been on the run with them my entire life, I know how to be vigilant. Now, I'm sure you have questions about my parents, and you need me to give you information to help you find them, so lets get down to business." She sat down, picture frame still in hand, and looked at the team expectantly, ready for the on slot of questions.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: So I was doped up on Benadryl for a while, so writing wasn't really going to happen. But I was stuck in a car today for three hours and wrote a couple of chapters, so enjoy this one! The next chapter has some of those Prentiss/Reid scenes you guys want! Let me know what you think of this chapter and thank you for all the great feedback!

Chapter 3

"Okay sweetheart, why don't you start with telling us what happened when you first realized your parents were gone." Morgan urged gently.

 _Penny had just gotten home from school on the bus. Her name wasn't Penny though, and she had to remind herself of that fact. Her name was Jennifer, Jenny for short. Similar enough, but she liked the theme of her and her siblings name. Her parents had decided to go with a theme, so when her brother was born, they named him Nicholas, or Nickel. Now that her mom was pregnant again and was having a girl, they were going to name her Diamond, so that her nickname could be Dime. She smiled at the thought. Her parents were dorks, but she loved them._

 _She waited at the end of the street for her younger brother to get off the bus. She waited everyday for him and then walked home with him, where their mom waited. She worked as a cosmetologist, and her hours were not long, so she was almost always home before them. Their dad would arrive home a little later. He was a professor at the local university, teaching math._

 _Her brother got off the bus and she took his hand, leading him up the road to the sixth house on the left. She approached the front door and was about to open it when she realized it was already open. She hesitated. Her gut was telling her it wasn't safe to go into the house._

 _"Jenny?" Her brother, 'Morgan' tugged on her leg._

 _"Hold on." She said and picked him up and put him on her back. He wrapped his legs around her stomach and his arms around her neck. He was used to this position because she used it a lot. She eased the door open with her foot, her body tense._

 _The house was a wreck. They didn't own much to begin with, but any pictures or decorative items were smashed and glass was everywhere. Things were thrown all over the place and the house was a mess._

 _"Jenny, we shouldn't go in there." Morgan said in a quiet voice._

 _"I know Morgan." She whispered back as she took in the room. She tried to remember everything her parents had told her to do if they disappeared._

 _They had given her a stash of emergency money. It was in sewn in the lining of her wallet, and she wasn't allowed to go anywhere at all without her wallet. There was enough money in there for last minute flights to DC, as well as money for food. There was cash in there in case she was able to get a motel room, though her parents weren't sure when she would be able to do that._

 _She was supposed to get a burn phone and call her parents at their last known number twice and then text them an SOS message. They would contact her from another number after sending a text with their code word in it. They were then supposed to contact their handler. If they did not get an answer or response after 12 hours, they were supposed to repeat the cycle. After 24 hours, they were supposed to get to the airport and head straight to DC._

 _Jenny turned on her heels and ran down the street, her brother on her back with her backpack under him. For the first time, she was grateful for the running exercises her parents put her through regularly. She got to the nearest convenience store and did exactly what she was supposed to. She hung out at a fast food restaurant for a little while as she and Morgan ate. The news was on and she saw a report about a shooting where their handler lived. Soon after, she got a phone call with no text, so she ditched the phone and went straight to the airport, where she booked two flights to DC, with many switches and red herrings as well. They went from their small town in California to Kansas to Louisiana, to New York before finally getting on a train to DC._

"And, well. Now we are here. Mom and Dad didn't tell me much about the people that were after them. All I know is that they are very resourceful and will stop at nothing to get what they want. They have people everywhere. I don't even know why they are after us. Us coming here was a last resort. Even if they are okay, it will likely be a long time before they come here looking for us." Penny told the group as she traced her mom's face in the picture frame. She felt her eyes fill with tears, but she fought them.

"I'm sorry. I wish I knew more, I want to help."

"Hey." JJ said, kneeling down in front of her. "Everything you told us helps. And you can still help, you know what your parents do when they are on the run, what they look like now. I'm sure you know more than you even realize. But even if you didn't know anymore than what you told us, it would help. Plus, we are going to search for your parents until we find them. We will not stop looking. And in the meantime, you and your brother will be taken care of. We will keep you safe."

"But what if you don't find them? You can't look after us forever. Nickel is only five. We couldn't ask you to take care of us indefinitely. The Marshals can place us with another family in protective custody."

"No." Hotch said from his place on the couch. "Everyone in this room, as well as Aunt Penelope, are willing to do whatever is needed to keep you two safe. We will take care of you two. Your parents knew that, thats why they told you two to come here if you were in trouble. You two aren't going back into protective custody, you are staying with us until we find your parents, and if we don't find your parents, you are staying with us regardless."

The team saw the girl's shoulders sag, as if a weight had been lifted off of her. "Only if you are sure..." She said hesitantly as she glanced up at the four agents in the room

"Course, kid." Morgan said as he stood up. "Now, you must be absolutely exhausted. Lets get you and your brother into a warm bed."

Penny looked up at him with Reid's serious eyes that seemed to search his soul. He couldn't imagine what she had been through the past few days, but the familiar look on her face hurt his heart. He missed his best friend and knew he would do whatever it took to keep his kids safe. "Thank you." Penny finally said as she broke out into a grin. She let out a yawn.

"Come on sweetie." JJ said as she put her arm around Penny's shoulders. "Lets get your brother and get out of here. You two can stay with us tonight. Henry and Jack can share a room before they both head back to college tomorrow. Then, we can see where we will go from there, okay?"

Penny surprised JJ by throwing her arms around her in a hug. "Thank you." She pulled back, her eyes to the floor. "Thank you all of you. We really appreciate your willingness to help us."

Rossi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Anytime. Everyone here, everyone, is family. The two of you are two more members of that family."

The grin on her face from those words warmed their hearts.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Okay, guys! You guys have asked for this chapter, so here it is! Let me know what you think, I'm not too good at the relationship side of stories, so feedback, good or bad, would be great!

Chapter 4

The next morning, Penny came downstairs at 7:30 to find JJ in the kitchen. She was the only other one up.

"It smells good." Penny said as she walked into the kitchen.

JJ turned around. "I'm surprised you are up. How did you sleep?"

"Fine." Penny said with a shrug as she glanced at the stovetop. "Are you making pancakes?"

"Yep." JJ said as she mixed the batter.

"Can I help?" Penny asked as she moved to the sink to wash her hands.

"Sure, if you want." JJ smiled. "Do you help your parents cook?"

Penny snorted. "My parents can't cook, are you kidding me? They both burn water. I'm the cook in the house."

JJ let out a laugh. "Yeah, that hasn't changed. Your parents both lived off of take out. Do you make pancakes a lot?"

"Oh, yeah." She smiled fondly. "Its Nickel's favorite food, and my dad loves sugar. I would make huge batches on the weekends and then freeze the leftovers in individual bags for the rest of the week if anyone wants them for breakfast."

"Well, you can make the pancakes while I get started on the bacon, okay?" JJ suggested.

Penny's eyes lit up. "Sure!" She took the bowl from JJ and poured some batter on the stove while JJ started cooking up the bacon.

"None of the other kids like to cook, so its normally just me down here." JJ told Penny as she turned the bacon.

"Thats too bad, cooking is a lot of fun." Penny said as she carefully flipped the pancakes to find the other side a perfect golden color. JJ watched Penny for a minute, smiling at how calm and content she was.

"So, sweets." JJ started. "Do you know how your parents got together?"

Penny laughed. "God, yes. Thats their favorite story to tell."

"Would you mind sharing with me?"

"Sure." Penny smiled thoughtfully as she shook her head at the memory of her parents telling them for the fiftieth time the story of how they got together."

 _The team had just finished up the case at Cyrus's. A case that hit her parents hard since her mom had decided to take the blame for being an FBI agent instead of her dad- even though they weren't together._

 _Spencer hadn't been able to sleep because he couldn't understand why Emily had done what she did. He blamed himself for her getting hurt and the memory of the bruises on her face made him cringe. Even without his eidetic memory, he knew that sight would be burned into his memory for the rest of his life. Before he even realized what he was doing, he ended up at Emily's apartment. He rang her doorbell. She yanked the door open._

 _"Reid? What are you doing here?" She asked._

 _"I don't understand." He said._

 _"What... are... you... doing... here." Emily said very slowly._

 _"No, not that. I understood your question. I don't understand why you would admit to being the FBI agent. He had already assumed it was me, why would you put yourself through that purposefully?"_

 _"He was going to kill you." Emily said. "I couldn't let that happen."_

 _"You shouldn't have put yourself in danger for me!" Spencer exclaimed. "I don't want you to ever put yourself in danger for me again. I couldn't- if you got hurt because of me- I'd never be able to forgive myself."_

 _"Spencer, if I had the opportunity to change that decision a hundred times, I would make the same decision every time." She told him matter-of-factly._

 _"But-"_

 _"Spencer, you have had some horrible cases, especially lately. After everything with Hankel and Gideon leaving, I really didn't want to see you suffer again, so I decided to take it. I would do it again."_

 _"And that is a problem. It doesn't make any sense for you to do that for me. You can't do that ever again, Emily."_

 _"And why not? You don't control me Reid." She crossed her arms as she leaned into the doorframe. She wasn't defensive, just... resigned._

 _"Because I love you and seeing you get hurt like that nearly killed me!" He almost yelled at her. He stopped as he realized what he had said._

 _"You... you love me?" Emily asked, standing up._

 _"I... I- yeah, I do. I'm sorry, Emily. I know you don't feel the same way, but I do and I can't bare to watch you let yourself get hurt because of me again and-"_

 _Emily cut him off by attacking him with a kiss. Spencer, though surprised, kissed her back enthusiastically. Finally, they pulled back and Emily leaned her forehead against Spencer's while she caught her breath._

 _"Spencer." She gasped out._

 _"Yes?" He asked hesitantly, unsure what she was going to say._

 _"I love you too." She told him before pulling him into a kiss again._

"Mom had realized she loved him quite a while before that, but Dad didn't realize that he had loved her for years until that moment. According to them, the rest is history. They dated for a while, and they got engaged. But then the stuff with Doyle happened, and-" Penny cut herself off. "They don't like talking about that, so I don't know if they would want me to repeat it." She admitted to JJ.

"They got together after Cyrus?" She asked, shocked.

"Some profilers we are." A voice said from the other side of the room. Penny and JJ looked up at Hotch, who had just come into the kitchen. He was followed by Penelope and Derek, who had just shown up. The twins were already asleep when they had gotten back the night before, so they just spent the night at the Hotchner home. Rossi came in behind them.

"You didn't suspect?" Penny asked him curiously.

"No, I didn't. Did any of you?" He asked the rest of the team. They shook their heads, mystified. "Your parents were quite good at keeping their relationship a secret from everyone. So they have been together since then?"

"Well... almost." Penny admitted.

 _"Emily, I don't understand!" Spencer yelled into the phone. "What is wrong? You are closing yourself off from me and you won't tell me anything anymore. What happened?" He was trying to get her to go see Solarus with him, she said she just wanted to be alone... which had been her response for almost two weeks. It was like a light switch. She always wanted to be with him, and him with her. All of a sudden, she wanted space, which he was willing to give. But he knew her, and he knew her well. Something else was going on, not just her wanting space._

 _"I don't want to get married." She heard herself yelling into the phone in response. She heard his intake of breath._

 _"What?" Came his almost inaudible response. She closed her eyes as she prepared to break his heart._

 _"I don't want to get married. I don't want to date. I want to break up." She repeated._

 _"Can I- can I ask why?" Spencer asked softly._

 _"I don't love you anymore, Reid." She said as harshly as she could. She needed him to let her go, she needed him to not be involved so that he wouldn't get hurt by her past._

 _"Oh." He said. "I'm sorry. I'll stop bothering you then. I'll see you at work Prentiss." He hung up the phone and she stared at the one in her hand, feeling numb._

 _Tears started streaming down her face. She knew that every word she had said had hurt him, and it nearly killed her. She knew what buttons to push to get him to lay off, and it had hurt him. They had been together for years, and she knew she would never love anyone the way she did him._

 _"I'll never stop loving you Reid. I'm sorry, but its for your own protection." She whispered. she sunk down to the floor in her bathroom, pulled her knees up to her chest, and sobbed._

Penny had finished the pancakes by then, and sat down, tears in her eyes.

"Oh, my poor babies!" Penelope cried as she pulled Penny into a hug. "That must have hurt the two of them so much."

"How long were they apart?" Morgan asked as he poured syrup on his pancakes before passing it around.

"Over a year." She said. "Dad really thought Mom was dead too." She told the people at the table.

"But... how did he find out?" JJ asked her.

"My mom couldn't take it anymore- it hurt her knowing that he thought she was dead, but it nearly killed her knowing that he thought she stopped loving him."

"So what did she do?" Garcia asked her namesake.

"Well..."


	5. Chapter 5

**So...yeah, its been a while. I don't really have an excuse, I just haven't had the inspiration to write...and I've been really busy with my first semester of college classes and adjusting to college life. But it's Thanksgiving, so here is another chapter. Thank you to everyone who is still reading this story!**

 ** _THERE IS MORE TO EMILY PRENTISS'S DEATH THAN YOU THINK_**

 _That was all the email said. Spencer stared at it. The email was sent to his private email, not his work one. His coworkers didn't even know about his private email, in fact, Emily was the only one to know about it._

 _Spencer immediately pulled out the well-worn papers that created Prentiss's death investigation and spread the pages out on his desk. He had them memorized, so the papers themselves were pointless, but it gave him something tangible to work with…_

 _"Wait a second…" Spencer whispered as he saw the sticky note that had never been there before. It just had a string of numbers on it_

 ** _488567 23508_**

 _Huh? His mind immediately started going through all of the possible meanings those numbers could have. Without thinking about it, his hand drifted towards his cell to call Garcia._

No, I have to figure this out on my own.

 _He picked the post-it note up and looked at the paper it was on. It was possible it was just a coincidence, but…_

 _In the back of his mind, the possibility that she was still alive was eating at him, but he ignored it._ That's not possible and you know it.

 _Except…there were indentations on the post-it. Spencer ran a pencil over it and a word appeared on the piece of paper._

 ** _COME._**

 _Come, as in, to a destination…_

 _What if the numbers signified a place? A quick google search revealed that the numbers on the post-it were coordinates for Paris, France._

 _"Hold on Emily," he whispered, finally allowing hope to blossom in his chest. "I'm coming."_

"Dad headed straight to Paris after that, which is I guess when he officially lost contact with all of you." Penny admitted to the team as she ate some of her pancakes.

Everyone was quiet at that for a moment, as the they took the time to recognize that revelations.

"But who left the note?" Garcia demanded. "And Paris is huge, what are the chances your dad is just going to find Prentiss?"

Penny smiled wistfully. "I'll admit, Mom put a lot of trust in him figuring out her note and what it meant…

 _Spencer Reid had officially landed in Paris 6 minutes and 23 seconds ago…24…25…26…_

 _He had left his phone in his apartment and managed to get to Paris with the forged passport, ID, and plane ticket that he had found scattered throughout his apartment. He had taken it into his own hands to disguise his appearance, at least a little, so he had donned some sunglasses for the bright sunny day, as well as a fedora. He had ditched his ratty old messenger bag, which was painful to do, and had dressed in totally different clothes than normal._

 _Now, he had to get to the bridge. The_ Pont des Arts _was a bridge that him and Emily had gone to on their trip barely a year ago, and they had both fallen in love with the cheesy idea of the locks and keys. They had one on there, and Spencer was sure that was were she would meet him. It was where he proposed to her, after all._

 _He finally made it to the bridge, but he froze._

What if I'm wrong?

What if this is a trap?

What if she doesn't show up?

 _Spencer steeled himself before striding forwards and stopping exactly where he had proposed. He leaned against the railing of the bridge and tried not to think about the weight all the locks would be having on the structure of the bridge. Suddenly, a person bumped into him from behind. On instinct, he turned around to see a woman with short red hair and sunglasses on._

 _"I'm sorry," a familiar voice said._

 _Spencer froze before reaching up to remove the sunglasses of the woman in front of him._

 _"Emily" He breathed out as he saw the familiar eyes that stared straight back into his._

 _"Spencer." Her voice caught and she threw her arms around him, kissing him. "I wasn't sure you would come. Marry me, Spencer, I love you so much, and I know I have a lot to explain, but not here. Just… marry me?"_

 _"Oh Emily, of course. I love you. I can't believe you're alive."_

 _"I know, and I'm sorry. Please, just give me some time, and I'll explain everything. Do you trust me?"_

 _"Emily, I came all the way to Paris, knowing someone was after me, on the off chance that you were the one who had sent the email and been in my apartment. Yeah, I think I trust you." He told her before capturing her lips in another kiss._

"And, yeah. After that, they were on the run together, hiding from Doyle. They love to tell those types of stories, but they didn't want to tell us much about why they had to leave or why these people were after them. They think I'm too young." Penny rolled her eyes and sighed as she looked at the table.

"That's so romantic," Aunt Penelope gushed, her heart on her chest. She had tears in her eyes.

JJ's heart broke for the girl in front of her. She carried the weight of the world around on her shoulders, and the burden was getting heavy. JJ reached over and squeezed the girl's hand and her head shot up to look at her. JJ gave her a soft smile.

"Your parents didn't want you to know anything in case you got captured as well. The fact that you and your brother made it here safely is nothing short of a miracle."

The young girl contemplated this for a moment, and the team could see the gears turning, but more in a Prentiss fashion than a Reid fashion. She jolted JJ out of her thoughts when she voiced her next question.

"So what are you going to do to find my parents?"


End file.
